 Welcome into the original gangsters podcast. I'm going to do a solo edition this week. Scott Bernstein, the hostess with the mostess. I'm going to just roll it solo with my boy Jimmy. The doctor, butchilato is in the middle of moving houses and it's finals week at Wayne State. So he's going to sit it out this week and I'm going to do a quick episode. And I'm going to harken back to an old Sopranos season that I believe they, they rolled out an episode called the class of 04. About a bunch of guys from the fictional Lupitatsi crime family from New York that were getting out after 20 years and the next couple seasons of the show dealt with the ripple effects. So I'm going to do an episode called class of 23. And we're going to talk about a handful of guys that real OGs old timers from the New York mafia that have come out of prison in the last couple months after doing some serious time. You know, two of these guys did 30 years. And another couple guys did 10 plus. So, well, one guy did did 10 plus and then another guy did a short five years but let me break it down for you. We got three members of the Colombo crime family, all veterans of the 1990s Colombo shooting war guys that were on the front lines of that war and we're convicted of of gangland slain's tied to that war. So, let's start with Joe Montalione, Tommy shots, a Dioli and Anthony Chuckie Russo. All three have got out of prison. Since the beginning of the year, Joe Monty was a soldier, Chuckie Russo was a couple, and Tommy shots was a couple and then eventually became acting boss street boss after the war. He was nicknamed Tommy shots because he was shot in the war. You know, just a quick primer on what was going on back in the 90s and with the Colombo crime family had the long time boss, Carmine Persico, who was in prison he had named little Vic arena his acting boss and in the spring of 1988. But by the 1990s arena had gotten power hungry and didn't want to step down when Carmine son alley boy little alley boy was was going to come out and come out of prison and take over that acting boss spot. Carmine made a declaration in early 1991 that when a little alley boy got a prison in 93, two years from that point he was going to take over and thick arena was going to have to move out of the way. Vic arena at this point began to rally the troops behind him go to the commission and tried to take the family away from the personal mob dynasty and eventually it broke out into a shooting war lasted about two years. A dozen bodies and over 100 arrests. So three guys from that from that conflict have walked out of prison in the last couple weeks last couple months. Joe Montalione, Joe Monty was a soldier in the Russo crew he belonged to the Jojo Russo crew. Jojo Russo's first cousin Chuckie Russo Anthony Chuckie Russo was also a cop. Oh, and both, and he he recently got out of prison, and both Chuckie and Joe Monty did about 27 years 28 years and are coming into kind of a whole different relationship that they left back in the 1990s Chuckie Russo 71, I believe in Joe Montalione's 83. So it'd be interesting to see where they fit in, or if they fit in. You know, there's a lot of talk about, you know, the health of these guys and some of their health ailments actually help you'll spring them from prison, a little bit early. When it comes to Tommy shots, you know, his family, his attorneys are saying that he just is dealing with a myriad of health ailments tied to his diabetes. And, but I don't know he's 70, 70 years old, seems like he's got, he's not that long in the very respected one of these guys that was kind of plain mediator during that war eventually had to choose a side and sided with the persicos. He came up under the Russo's as well. Tommy, Chuckie Russo and Tommy Geoli were all linked to the 1992 murder of Johnny cannolis, John Minerva and his bodyguard. Big Mike and Bergamo that were killed in Long Island outside of Minerva's pastry shop. He was April of 92, and it was organized by the Russo's and Joe Montalione. And Tommy shots was also supposedly involved in it. Tommy shots didn't go to prison as a result of what went down in that 1990s Colombo war. And he was not only did and Chuckie Russo did, but Tommy shot stayed on the street and help put the family back together. After the unrest, and he was actually a part of a kind of a residual gangland slain after the shooting that was dropped in in around 93. One of the, the big shock haulers on the, on the side of the, the insurgency, while Bill Cattolo was, was really kind of rocked to sleep by the persicos they were very angry at his disloyalty. And, but they pretended like all was forgiven and they, they actually named him under boss as a way to kind of get his guard down and then Tommy shots, Julie and some of his soldiers guys that he mentored the two Dino's little and big Dino were were were some of the guys that that took while Bill out in the spring of 99. And then Tommy shots at some point in 0203 became acting boss of a crime family was acting boss until he he was indicted in 08 and went to prison in the late 2000s but is a guy that's widely respected across New York City across multiple crime families. And it should be interesting to see what happens with him back in the mix. Chuckie Russo is one of these. He's mob royalty he's he's part of the mafia dynasty that is the Perseco crime family of the Persecos and the Russo's are first cousins and Jojo Russo I know this gets confusing with all these names. Joe Montalione belong that Jojo Russo's crew, who was Chuckie's cousin Jojo, who died in prison but Jojo was the son of Andy Mush Russo, who was the acting boss, on and off for about 30 years for his first cousin, Carmine Perseco Jojo was his son Chuckie was one of his cousins and nephews Chuckie is kind of the last man standing Andy Mush Russo died last year Carmine Perseco died in prison. Three, four years ago, Jojo Russo died in prison. The only guys that are still left are Chuckie and Billy Russo. And so Chuckie you know he's only 70 years old has that reputation and the name recognition went away as a cop. It's going to be interesting to see where he where he slots into the fine into the crime family. Joe Montalione get the feeling that you know he's just kind of going to enjoy his final years. Wasn't a guy that was a administrator at any point was never a cop. But you know, I guess only time will tell. And then, let's just finish off moving over to the Lucchese crime family. Larry, Joe Denapoli Big Joe, aka Joey D. He got out of prison. Recently as well. He did about five, six years on a big racketeering case that took down the administration of the Lucchese crime family back in 2017. You know, in the top three there with with Maddie Madonna, Stevie Korea and Joe D as the as a conciliary with Korea's under boss and Maddie Madonna as as the boss both Korea Madonna were convicted in murders in that 17 case or a murder. Ex-Purple Gang leader, Mike Meldish, who was from the Purple Gang that the 1970s Harlem Bronx Purple Gang, who was at one point very close to Maddie Madonna had a falling out Madonna ordered and murdered. But even though Joe D was conciliary and was Maddie Madonna's top advisor, he was not ensnared in that murder conspiracy and was not sentenced to life in prison and walked out in the last month. So, you know, he's 87. Again, I don't know what that means for him. You know, does he come back as conciliary. Probably not, you know, they have a whole new administration in there that the boss of the family who kind of like Carmine Persecoe, Vicka Musso is in prison, calling shots from behind bars put in a whole new administration right when that previous administration that got indicted in kind of what was described as a bloodless coup where a Musso removed three guys and put three replacements in there and and Joe D was one of those guys that got replaced. I believe he's he's still in relative good standing. I think a lot of the issues were more with Maddie and Stevie and just the fact that they were going away and Vick wanted a new people in there. The Santas, Patty Red and Andrew D. Simone are the guys that we've been told are from court court testimony and court records are running the cases right now. But again, if you're if you're a conciliary of one of the five families you obviously got a lot of juice and you know, wide ranging respect or you wouldn't have reached that post so Joe D a guy that dates back in that Lucchese crime family all the way back to the 60s late 60s and early 70s, and he was in now Gribbs is crew Carmine Tramonte aka Gribbs and if you know the movie Goodfellas, he's referenced by big Pauly in the scene where he says you know I ain't gonna be like Gribbs. Gribbs got, you know, 70 years for talking to some some some chump that was dealing drugs and not telling them about it. That's not the exact quote but I always wondered from watching that movie who Gribbs was and then when I got into this, I kind of learned and you know he guy was a pretty legendary boss and then Lucchese crime family in 70s and went away for the rest of his life to prison and died in prison because he got caught up in a drug case that was referenced in the movie but Joe D came up under Gribbs and another guy that was made his way into movie lore, Gigi the whale in Glacy who was the basis of a character in the movie Bronx tale Joe Joe the whale. So, you know, he was tied to two two guys that were were reference points and some pretty iconic movies, but Jody's 87 years old probably again just wants to kind of come home and spend time with his family but you never know. These guys are really, you know, people ask me all the time, like, you know, why do these guys want to go back, you know after they've spent X amount of years away from their family or locked up and wouldn't come you know, normal intuition or normal thought process would be that you just want to stay out of trouble and not gravitate back towards a life that can either kill you violently or or put you back and put you back in a cage but you know, I've been in this world of reporting for two decades now and getting to know a lot of these guys studying them, getting to know them personally. It's, it's you know it's in their blood it's in their DNA. This is who they are. They feel lost when they're not being a criminal, when they're not being true to the organization, even though that organization is very rarely true to them back and that's, you know, I think that's been a narrative that's been proven true on and on over the last 30 40 years about how this kind of oath you give is more of a one way street than a two way street. But Joe D's back. Tommy Schatz is back. Joe Monte's back and Chuck E. Russo all back in New York City. As of, you know, from the first the first guy started to filter out in February. Last guy's got out in April. It should be interesting to see how that all shakes out class of 2023 in the New York mafia, 20 years after the Sopranos had a class of 2004. So, you know, we'll be keeping you up to date with what we hear here on the original gangsters podcast. You can check gangster report, which is my web magazine where I updated on a daily basis with these kind of stories about who's coming who's going who's getting promoted. What investigations are going on. Who's meeting with who. So, www.gangsterreport.com, you can get it there and then me and Jimmy are going to be back, bringing out some some some fresh content in the next week. We're going to be getting into some more East Coast LCN. We got an episode that's going to deal with Providence that's on the horizon and then we got another one where we're going to talk about a very, very intriguing unsolved mystery and allegation unsolved murder mystery and allegations of some pretty if it's that these allegations are true, which court cases haven't been very successful, but these allegations would are very, very sensational and paint law enforcement in New Jersey in a very negative light. It's in relation to the 2007 murder of Frankie Logano, a Lucchese soldier who was a cooperator and who's a status of a cooperator had leaked, and he was murdered within a couple weeks of that information leaking to the street back in 07 he was under indictment for a big mob case of the New Jersey called Operation Jersey Boys and Legato's family has made some pretty severe accusations against the police in Bergen County of tipping off the Luccheses and there was a wrongful death law students been tossed out of court we're going to deep dive it in the next couple weeks and we're going to really give you the top to bottom what happened to Frankie Logano and why it why it happened and who was possibly involved in it so for Jimmy Bucci Lotto and our producer Ben I hope you enjoyed this this quick hitter episode class of 2023 the New York Mafia they all graduated from college and they're all they're all coming back on their graduation tour into New York City Scott Birch and OG podcast